From this bay, we rowed round the south-east point, and opened the two islands, the largest of which, I named Phillip-Isle, after Governor Phillip; and the smallest, Nepean-Isle, after Evan Nepean.  The point of Norfolk-Island, opposite Nepean-Isle, I called Point Hunter, after captain John Hunter, of his Majesty’s ship the Sirius.

Between Point Hunter and Point Ross, there is a large, though not a deep, bay, with several fine sandy beaches; but without the beaches, there runs a reef parallel with the shore, which seemed to prevent any landing on it; and, as we were opening the weather side of the island, and a great swell running, which prevented us from pulling the boat a-head, we returned along shore, and endeavoured to land on a stony beach to the westward of the cascade, but could not:  we then rowed to the north-east point of the island, off which lies a cluster of high rocks; I called them Cook’s rocks, in memory of the late Captain James Cook, who discovered this island, and landed near these rocks in 1774:  but we found landing impossible, on account of the surf, which broke every where, though this may not be the case in fine weather.  In the evening we returned on board, without being able to set our feet on shore.

During the night, we had light winds from the south-west; and a current, or tide, had set us a considerable distance to the north-east of the island; which, at eight o’clock the next morning, bore south-east, eight miles distant:  from this time, until three in the afternoon, we were employed in working up under the north-east point of the island, where we anchored in nineteen fathoms, distant from the nearest shore one mile.  A boat was hoisted out, and after two attempts, I landed with Lieutenant Ball, on the side of a large rock, which lies close to the shore, at the west end of a small stony beach; it must have been on this rock that Captain Cook landed, as there is no other place at this side of the island, where it is possible to attempt a landing at any time, and that is only practicable here, from half ebb to half flood, in very fine weather, and the wind off the island.  As it was near the evening when we landed, we very soon returned on board again, with a quantity of sorrel that we had gathered.  We found this a very improper place to land either people or stores, it being impracticable to get them further than the beach, and there was no fresh water near it.

At day-light in the morning of the 3d, I left the Supply, and went in her boat along with Mr. Cunningham, to examine the south-west side of the island, which we rowed round, until we opened Phillip and Nepean Isles off the south point; but it blew too hard, and there was too great a sea running for us to pull the boat any farther, so that at two in the afternoon we returned on board.

There is only one place on this side of the island, where landing is at all practicable, and that is in a small bay just within the west point:  the bottom of it is a fine sandy beach, but the surf broke on it with such violence, as to put landing out of the question.